Last weekend, I was looking at my bottle of Hoi Sin Sauce and wondering what I shall do with it. With 3 chicken drumsticks available in the fridge, I decided to give the chicken a marinade and try out something new. It turned out tasty, albeit slightly charred due to the frying process. I have a feeling that the sugar content in the Hoi Sin Sauce caused the quick charring of the chicken. Perhaps, I did not coat the chicken enough with corn flour.

Anyway, the use of garlic gives the chicken a unique fragrance (unless you find garlic repulsive, which some do) which my daughter enjoyed very much. I had never seen her eating so much meat at one go! I would recommend this dish as a good finger / snack food or as an accompaniment to either rice or pasta.

Before frying, dust chicken with corn flour. Heat up oil and deep fry or pan fry the chicken using high heat till browned. Remove from oil and set aside.

Cut fried chicken into bite / smaller pieces. If chicken is still not cooked (reddish flesh), return chicken into oil and fry for another minute or two. As the chicken is now cut into smaller pieces, any uncooked bits will be cooked in a short period of time. If you fry it too long, it will not be juicy or tender anymore.

Clean the wok and heat up 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add garlic and saute till aromatic (but before turning brown) – this should take a couple of seconds only. Add chicken, stir well to coat chicken with garlic and dish up when garlic starts to brown.

The missus is right, Pablo. You shouldn’t be eating too much char grilled food as it is not good for you. ANd yes, it is the sugar content in the hoisin sauce which caused the burnt. A trick I learned from one of the cooking show is to use sugary sauces as a glaze on the meat instead of using them as a marinade.